Spinning Tree Theatre’s Ride The Cyclone is a quirky and morbid musical comedy

Ride the Cyclone cast // Courtesy of Spinning Tree Theatre

Off-Broadway hit musical Ride the Cyclone has returned to Spinning Tree Theatre as a part of their 2023-2024 season. Written by Brooke Maxwell and Jacob Richmond, and directed by Michael Grayman-Parkhurst, the musical follows six St Cassian High School Chamber Choir members on their journey into the afterlife, who died after the front axle broke on the Cyclone. 

The show begins with Jane Doe (Caroline Petersma) singing an eerie opening number while carrying around a headless doll, hinting at her demise, as she was decapitated when the rollercoaster derailed. When no one came to claim her headless body, the coroner named her Jane Doe. Throughout the show, this constantly haunts her as she can’t remember anything from her former life much like the other members.

The show is narrated by The Amazing Karnak, a mechanical fortune teller who boasts about his amazingly morbid function of being able to predict the exact cause and time of someone’s death. He makes sure to note to the audience that the choir members died on Monday, September 14th, boarded the rollercoaster at approximately 6:17 p.m., and that the rollercoaster derailed them to their deaths at 6:19 p.m. We learn Karnak is also nearing his death as Virgil the Rat has almost chewed through his cord entirely. 

Each choir member comes with their own set of quirks that shine throughout the show. You have the perfectionist and overachiever, Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg (Makayla Manning), the stereotypical nice girl who makes sly remarks under her breath, Constance Blackwood (Aubrey May), a cat obsessed mute boy, Ricky Potts (Bryan Swilor), a Ukranian bad boy that raps when he’s angry, Mischa Bachinski (Caleb Mitchell), and the only gay boy in his small town who also has an obsession with French Nu Wave cinema, Noel Gruber (Cole Witt).

When the choir members arrive in limbo post-accident, Karnak invites them to compete in a game, where one of them gets the chance to be resurrected in the end. This is ultimately decided by Ocean, who has the highest GPA of the group, and prides herself on her love of democracy. As Karnak reads each member’s fortune, they go head-to-head with one another by singing for a chance to live again.

With each song, we learn of each member’s hopes, aspirations, and fantasies. Some of which include Ricky being the hero of an intergalactic planet of cats, Gruber being a harlot in post-war France, then dying of Typhoid flu, and Mischa moving back to his homeland and marrying his fiancée, Talia. 

Unlike the other choir members, Karnak couldn’t tell Jane Doe’s fortune. To make things less awkward, the choir members sing the traditional happy birthday song, followed by “New Birthday Song” once they remember that Jane is nameless. Ricky then takes it upon himself to name her Savannah, a name that he’d been saving up for a while.  Because yes, she is deserving of a name in the afterlife. 

Caroline Petersma as Jane Doe // Courtesy of Spinning Tree Theatre

In the end, Ocean puts her self-absorbed nature to the side and picks Jane Doe as the winner of the game, as she remembers that Jane couldn’t remember anything from her time on earth. We then learn that Jane Doe’s name is Penny Lamb, as she crosses from one realm into the next, while a montage of video clips from her entire life plays on the screen. Despite this being a dark comedy, it was heartwarming to see Jane gain a sense of herself.

Overall, the show was a hilarious reminder that while the chaos of life may seem never-ending, it’s still meant to be enjoyed.

Ride The Cyclone has a few more showtimes this weekend and tickets can be purchased here.